Hops A-Z; Z is for Zeus

And then there was Z. Featuring the most-grown hop in the US although you may never have heard of it; a hop that may feature in a beer that you love though it could be replaced by two other varieties and you'd be almost none the wiser. Z is for Zeus and it's all about the alpha.

There's a reason why Zeus is the most grown hop variety in the United States, making up very nearly a quarter of total production. It's consistently bitter. With alpha-acids in the range of 12-16% of hop mass (sometimes even as high as 20%) this high-yielding hop can provide bitterness by the bucketful.

The hops' similarity to Columbus and Tomahawk isn't accidental. Three varieties of a high alpha hop derived from Northern Brewer were sold to different growers, with Steiner controlling the variety that became known as Zeus. Those other two have since been shown to be identical with Zeus practically indistinguishable from them, giving us what has less-than-lovingly been called CTZ; Columbus-Tomahawk-Zeus.

CTZ has become US brewery shorthand for an alpha hop addition, nearly always in pellet form. It provides the necessary bitterness for a beer without getting in the way of aroma - that's what specialist hops can be deployed for. American IPAs such as Russian River's Pliny The Elder and Green Flash's West Coast IPA all use copious amounts of CTZ for bittering, letting another showcase hop get on with imparting aroma.

For being a ubiquitous bittering hop, for being dominant in the US market, all beer drinkers should be thankful for Zeus. We need some constants; a consistent malt, a reliable alpha level bittering hop. They provide the canvas; specialty malt and hops let the brewer express themselves. Zeus may not be the biggest hop you've never heard of for much longer - wider recognition is long overdue.